


who tells your story

by lostin_space



Series: Wheel Of Crack Wednesday [1]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, M/M, ambiguously mystical creatures, forest is a literal forest, mentions of malex, wheel of crack wednesday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 01:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21499618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy with a broken heart.
Relationships: Forest/Alex Manes
Series: Wheel Of Crack Wednesday [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549672
Comments: 21
Kudos: 48





	who tells your story

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first-ever Wheel of Crack Wednesday! I’m so super excited to start this. Basically every Wednesday, I’m going to post something crack-shippy of some sort. Typically, I’ll just spin a wheel and randomize the couple for that Wednesday, but, for our first event (and for any Wednesday that someone has a special idea for), we have a special prompt from my beloved [brightloveee](https://brightloveee.tumblr.com/) who asked for alex and forest who is a legit forest because she's great
> 
> (ps they won’t all be this serious or this long or this bittersweet, I just got carried away. they will typically be lighthearted in the spirit of crack)

_Once upon a time, there was a boy with a broken heart._

Moving on was difficult. It didn’t really matter what one was moving on from, just the act alone was hard. Alex knew that better than anyone. He’d spent a decade trying to move on from a man that he wasn’t sure even remembered his name. When he got home and discovered he not only _had_ remembered his name, but he had missed him just as much. How ridiculous was that? It was a love story of the ages.

Now, however, that man had moved on and so Alex needed to as well. For real this time. 

“C'mon, Buffy, let’s go for a walk,” Alex cooed, scratching her head as he attached the leash to her collar. Alex wasn’t sure how to move on exactly, but clearing his mind sounded like a good first step.

He let Buffy lead him far behind the cabin, the trees engulfing them both as they wandered away from the trail that Jim Valenti hadn’t been around to maintain. Alex liked going out into the trees at night. He did a lot when he was younger; it felt like home. He really needed something that felt like home now that his life with Michael Guerin was certifiably over.

Alex’s fingers felt along the trees he passed and he let his eyes close for a few steps to take it all in. The smell of the trees and the feeling of leaves brushing his cheeks soothed him.

“Thank you, forest, you’re too good to me,” he whispered to no tree in particular.

He wandered until the anxiety of being forever alone left his system. There was just something ever so comforting about the forest that he couldn’t quite explain. It made him feel like no one in a good way. There was no weight on his shoulders in there, but he could regain the weight whenever he wanted to.

He wandered until he was ready to take the weight back.

“C’mon, Buffy,” he said after a while, “Let’s go home.”

-

Alex was awake for less than ten minutes before he realized Buffy was missing.

Somehow, that felt like the worst thing the world had ever done to him. He searched the whole house, he called her name incessantly, he looked around outside, he even texted everyone to see if they’d somehow seen her. After an hour, he realized he couldn’t do much but wait and hope she was just in the woods and doing what beagles do. If that meant him crying on the couch the whole time, well, no one had to know.

A knock on the door thirty minutes after had him wiping his nose on his shirt and double-checking it wasn’t obvious that he’d been crying. He was expecting it to be Liz or Kyle all ready to go Buffy hunting, but he still didn’t want them knowing he was crying. That felt a little too dramatic, especially when she was probably fine.

Except, when he opened the door, it wasn’t Liz or Kyle or anyone he’d ever seen before.

It was a very tall man in very torn up clothing, face young and eyes big and smile sweet and arms full of Buffy. Alex all but started crying at the sight of her. _Oh, thank God._

“I found your Buffy,” the guy said. His voice was deep as hell and it had Alex’s mind swimming.

“Oh my God,” he said, taking her from his arms and cuddling her close. She seemed vaguely irritated with all the holding, but he still snuggled close. He thought he’d lost her too. “Thank you so much for bringing to me. Did she show up where you’re staying or something?”

The man blinked with his whole face and nodded. He was all limbs with arms and legs that didn’t seem to end and his face was unbearably kind. His eyes were so wide that it would’ve been sketchy on anyone else, but he made it endearing. While he wasn’t exactly stunningly attractive, he was beautiful in a plain sort of way, like the way an empty field was pretty. He smelled like the trees though and Alex smiled.

“I’m Alex, by the way,” he said, putting Buffy down and letting her waddle away. He held his hand out for the man to shake. 

“Alex,” he repeated. He stared at Alex’s for a moment like he was trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, then he let out a quiet _’oh’_ of realization before he grabbed it and brought it to his lips. Alex just stared at him in bewilderment. “I’m Forest.”

“Hi, Forest,” Alex said, clearing his throat and tried not to be too obviously flustered, “I’ve never seen you before? Are you new around here?”

“No,” he said simply. Alex licked his lips.

“Alright.” 

Alex raided his mind for something to talk about. There was something about him that made Alex want to make sure he didn’t leave. It was probably the state of his clothes, he decided. The last time he helped out a homeless guy he ended up with a love so overwhelming that it caused the worst kind of pain and the best kind of joy. If there was one thing he was sure about, that wasn’t a mistake. This felt like the beginning to a much better story than the one he’d been leading.

“Do you want to come in?” Alex asked, “I can make you lunch as repayment for bringing my dog home.” He knew it was sort of stupid to invite a stranger into your home, but Alex didn’t get a single bad vibe from him. Which was saying something because Alex got bad vibes from almost everyone _including_ Michael Gueirn.

This guy seemed pure.

He wasn’t one bit out of place inside the cabin.

-

“Oh my God, your hair is wild.”

Alex giggled for the fifth time that day which happened to be the fifth time that month. Forest was sitting on the floor in front of him, both a little wine drunk as he did his best to comb the knotted, curly mass that was Forest’s hair. It was past his shoulders and kinky and such a dark brown that Alex could get lost in it. It somehow managed to be in one knot and multiple at the same time.

Somehow, they had spent the entire day together. He’d come in for lunch and Alex had such a good time with him that it was like he blinked and it was night. Forest was kind for a way that was unmatched, just a ball of courtesy and curiosity and sweetness. He seemed so full of life and eager to know everything and caring so much about what Alex felt about those things while also being infinitely wise. He could spin tales from any time in history, yet seemed so entranced by the way wine tasted. Alex’s whole body was hot with adoration.

“When’s the last time you brushed it?” Alex asked, bubbling with laughter as Forest down the rest of his glass with childish eyes. 

“One day before, I think,” he said. Alex nodded. Fair enough.

“I want to give you different clothes, but I don’t think I have anything that’ll fit you.”

“I don’t need them.”

“You don’t need new clothes or you don’t need clothes at all?”

“Yes.”

“I feel that.”

Forest giggled, a small little sound that contrasted strongly to the deep tone of his speaking voice. He tilted his head back and gazed up at Alex with adoring eyes. It made him warm inside, a way he hadn’t felt in a really long time. It felt like home.

“I have seen so many things that the earth decided to create and you are by far the most lovely,” Forest said and Alex was thankful his face was already red from the wine. He was forever blessed with men who had no ability to stop themselves from saying things that made his brain shortcircuit.

“Thank you,” Alex said, “You’re very gorgeous too.”

“Yes,” Forest agreed. They both laughed again.

Hours continued to pass. They talked and drank more and got to know each other in a way that was simply _now_ rather than _then_. He didn’t know Forest’s parents’ names or where he was from, but he already memorized the way he pushed his hair out of his face with his palm and had discovered his love for everything in nature. Alex didn’t tell Forest about his time in the Air Force, but Forest quickly seemed to learn which hand Alex held his glass in and when his glasses needed to be pushed up further on his nose. Those things felt more significant than the idea of a time before they were together on his couch.

Alex introduced him to Netflix and Forest found Alex’s hands much more interesting.

“That tickles,” Alex whispered, though he couldn’t stop staring at the way Forest traced his fingers and the back of his hand like it was a glass figurine. Beautiful and fascinating and breakable. Forest’s eyes shot up to his, a deep green that seemed to be the sole decision in his namesake.

“Tickles?” Forest repeated, saying the word slow as if trying to figure out where it fit in his mouth. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve never been tickled before?” Forest blinked that innocent little blink of his.

“I don’t think I understand.”

Alex, fueled with wine and the desire to be closer to someone, reached forward and wiggled his fingers into his abdomen. Forest jolted back in surprise, eyes wide and mouth in an ‘o’ shape. He looked back and forth between his stomach and Alex’s hand.

“What?” he whispered. Alex giggled and reveled in the way he scooted closer to inspect his hand again.

Alex grabbed his hand instead, gently grazing his finger over the back of Forest’s hand and watching the evolution of his face as it tickled him. It was beautiful and new and soft. Forest moved closer, taking Alex’s hand and mimicking him.

“You like that feeling?” Forest asked.

“Do _you_?” Alex said instead of answering. He didn’t have a good answer. It wasn’t no, but it wasn’t yes. He liked the way his stomach would tense in anticipation and he liked the way it usually preceded much more intimate touching, but he hated just about everything else.

“I just…” Forest said, shaking his head in awe, “Touch me again, please?”

Alex moved closer, reaching his hand up and tracing over Forest’s stubbly jaw and down his dark-skinned neck with that same feather-light touch he’d used on his hand. Forest let out a shaky little sigh, chills rising on his skin and his chest rising and falling a little more obviously. Alex traced over his ear, across his cheeks, above his eyebrows, down his nose, and made sure to be extra slow as he touched his lips.

“Alex,” Forest said with urgency, “I want‒”

But he didn’t say what he wanted. He looked confused, like he couldn’t find the word for what he wanted. Alex didn’t want to push. They were both drunk and Alex was just sad and desperate. So, instead of trying to fill in the blank, he smiled and tucked his thick curls behind his ear.

“You can sleep on the couch if you’d like,” Alex suggested. Something like disappointment burrowed into his brow, but he nodded nonetheless. 

“I would like.”

Alex left him an extra blanket and tried not to feel like he was insane when the only thing on his couch in the morning was a folded blanket, dirt, and leaves.

-

“Hello.”

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice that appeared behind him. It’d been three days since he’d hung out with Forest with no sign of him. He was sure he’d lost his goddamn mind, but apparently not. He turned to see him standing in his backyard wearing the same clothes as last time and seeming just as kind and alluring as Alex remembered. 

“Hey,” Alex said, trying not to be angry. There was nothing to be angry about. Alex didn’t know the guy, it’s not like he had obligations to talk to him or hang out with him. All he did was give him a place to sleep for the night. That didn’t mean anything.

“I learned I wanted to miss you,” Forest said. Alex huffed, dropping the axe in his hand from where he was chopping firewood.

“What does that mean?” Alex asked, turning to face him completely. Forest stepped closer and closer and closer until he was right in front of Alex. It really put into perspective that he was almost an entire head taller.

“I did not have a word,” he explained, “I do now. Last time, I had no words for what I wanted. I wanted to miss.”

“You were with me,” Alex said, shrugging one shoulder as he discreetly breathed in the woodsy smell of the man before him, “How do you miss someone you’re with in that moment?”

Forest’s eyebrows furrowed in that adorably confused face. He leaned down, close to Alex’s ear. Alex closed his eyes, waiting for whatever he had to say and vowing to enjoy it regardless.

“I think I do not understand the word miss,” he whispered.

Alex laughed and led him back inside.

“You don’t have to leave, you know. You can stay as long as you want,” Alex said as they walked to the kitchen. Forest stood closer than he did last time they were in there. He hovered over Alex’s shoulder as he began pulling out food to cook.

“Alex,” he responded, “What do I want?”

“I don’t know, Forest,” Alex said as kindly as humanly possible, “You tell me.”

Alex had approximately three and a half seconds to process anything before he was pressed against the fridge with Forest’s long body on his. His bony fingers were daintily holding his jaw, holding it up at the angle required to be kissed utterly senseless. Forest’s kisses were uncoordinated and sloppy, but they held so much passion that Alex couldn’t complain. Still, he reached up and silently helped guide him to kiss a little more securely and made a mental note to enjoy the process of teaching him how to do just that.

“Alex,” Forest said when he pulled away just a little, “That. What is that word?”

Alex let out a breathy laugh and pushed his hands into Forest’s mass of hair.

“ _Kiss_ ,” he said, “You wanted to kiss me.”

-

“So you don’t know his last name or where he’s from or how old he is or why he wears ratty clothes or why he disappears for days at a time?”

“Nope.”

Alex wasn’t bothered by the judgmental faces on his friends. He much more enjoyed the playful man who Rosa was currently teaching how to play pool. Alex was very charmed by the way he was much more curious about the pool cue itself than anything else.

“Alex, what if he murders you in his sleep?” Isobel asked. He rolled his eyes.

“No, seriously, it’s sketchy,” Liz agreed. Alex shrugged.

“I didn’t tell him my last name or where I was from or how old I am or anything else like that, so why should I ask him?” Alex said. He didn’t feel the need to explain that this was the only person in the world other than Michael Guerin to make him feel warm and welcome all the time. This was the only person who he instantly felt belonged in his space like Michael Guerin. This was the first person since Michael Guerin to make him feel happy and loved and connected. He refused to give that up.

Besides, he was determined that this chapter of his story went much different than the last.

“How do you expect to have a relationship with him if you don’t talk?” Michael asked. Alex almost laughed, raising an eyebrow at him. Seeing Michael was a million times easier now that he knew someone else would come along. It wasn’t just Michael forever. Alex would love him for the rest of his life, but that was okay. He could handle that as long as someone who made him feel like Forest was around.

“Guerin, we _do_ talk, we just don’t talk about stuff like that,” Alex said, “That shit seems unimportant.”

“But he looks homeless,” Max said softly, “Shouldn’t you find out if he is so we could help him?” Alex pressed his lips into a hard line.

“He has a spot on my couch any night of the week,” Alex stated firmly. He didn’t say that every night he stayed on the couch, he was gone in the morning and the only thing in his place was leaves and dirt. That would just further their suspicions.

“Well, are you happy?” Maria asked. 

“That’s what matters,” Kyle added.

Alex looked over to where Rosa had ditched the pool table and instead was teaching Forest how to braid. He looked so lost in the process, eyes wide in amazement. Alex felt fuzzy inside.

“Yes, I really am,” Alex said.

“Okay, but, Alex,” Michael said softly, “There’s something off about that guy. I can feel it. I want you to be happy, but… There’s just something wrong with him.” Alex scoffed, shaking his head. 

“You have no say in my relationship, Guerin. I don’t really give a shit what you think.”

Alex made his way towards Forest without letting Michael respond. Forest turned to him before he was able to reach him almost like he knew he was there. When he smiled, Alex grabbed the waistband of his pants.

“Let’s go home,” Alex said. Forest looked as intrigued in that sentence as he had with Rosa’s braiding. She snorted from beside them. “You can sleep in my bed tonight.”

“With you?” Forest asked, leaning down to him. Alex nodded.

“With me.”

-

“I like that.”

Alex chuckled, letting his eyes close as he relaxed with the large, lanky man laying on his chest. They were both completely bare, their skin still hot and sticky and their hearts still pounding. He felt completely at peace as they laid there, something he’d only felt while wandering the woods. It was almost the same feeling, really.

“Are you tired?” Alex asked him, running his hand through his hair. Forest hummed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

They got settled in bed, curled up together nicely. Alex was able to drift off better than he had in awhile and he slept harder than he had in years. That was it. That’s what he needed. He needed someone to make him feel that safe all the time. He needed that security.

That being said, when he woke up to an empty bed half-covered in leaves and dirt, he felt like this was karma at play.

Alex’s chest ached as he stared at the leaves in his bed, doing his best to push it away. It didn’t budge. He brought his knee to his chest and held on tight. This was his payback. Years and years of leaving Guerin had led to this moment of him having a good night with a man he felt like he loved and waking up alone. He didn’t realize just how bad it hurt to be on the receiving end of it.

His chest ached for the next three days as he avoided his friends.

“Alex!” Forest said happily when he let himself in after an entire weekend of being MIA after their first real night together. Alex glared at him and stepped away when he tried to get close. Forest frowned. “Alex?”

“Where do you go?” Alex demanded, “I-I don’t get it, where do you go? You up and disappear for days and, fine, whatever, I get it, but you can’t even give me a heads up? You just leave me?”

He knew it wasn’t fair to be angry. He’d done this so many times to a man he loved. He had no right to be pissed. But, God, he _was_.

“I do not understand,” Forest said, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Of course you don’t,” Alex laughed dryly, shaking his head, “Look, it’s not nice to have sex with someone and then leave them. I would know, I’ve done it. It’s a shitty thing to do.”

“Yes?” Forest said slowly like he didn’t know, like he didn’t care.

Alex scoffed, “You left me!”

Forest just looked even more confused and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly trying to find words he didn’t have. Alex rubbed his eyes and tried his best to calm down. He was overreacting.

“Just… where do you go? Did you have a good reason to leave? Is there a reason you put shit in my bed? Is there a reason for any of this or are you just fucking with me? Is this a joke?” he asked. That many questions was definitely unfair because he knew very well that Forest couldn’t process them. “Where do you go?”

Slowly, Forest lifted his hand and pointed in the ambiguous direction of the door.

Alex tilted his head back in frustration. He hated this. If this is how he had ever made Michael feel, then he wanted to apologize a million times over.

“You understand,” Forest said, “I told you. I told you, I know I did. I am Forest.”

Alex scoffed, “I know your name.”

“Alex,” he said sternly, “ _I am forest.”_

Alex stared at him for a minute. He was processing the words, sort of, but not really. There was a block in his mind that prevented him from getting it. Or, maybe he was getting it and it was just too insane for him. It shouldn’t have been, though, because he had previously had sex with an alien. Clearly the unreal had a thing for Alex Manes.

“You’re… _the_ forest?” Alex said slowly. Forest blinked innocently and nodded. “What the fu‒”

“You were so sad,” he said earnestly, “I just wanted to make it stop. Did I make it stop? Did I make it worse?”

Alex quickly walked towards the door, throwing it open to make sure the trees in his backyard were still there. They were, but somehow so was the body version of Forest. While the logical part of Alex told him this was clearly some elaborate lie, the rest of him wanted to believe it so badly.

“How the hell do you have a body? Are you every forest, or just this one? What _are_ you?” Alex demanded. Forest squeezed his eyes shut and held up three fingers. Alex knew this was him trying his best to be coherent for him.

“The earth grants me this when I need it most,” he said and put down a finger, “This is me. I am nowhere but here.” He put down another finger. “I am Forest.”

Alex eyed him and then mentally gave himself a pat on the back for not absolutely freaking out about this. Turns out, finding out a giant alien conspiracy made other things a lot easier to process.

“What do you mean the earth grants you it when you need it most? Why did you need a body? Where does it come from? What is made of? How are you _in_ it? Are you like a god or something? Is your psyche projected into an otherwise dead body?” Alex spewed. He felt bad for being overwhelming, but _he_ was overwhelmed and he just wanted some fucking answers.

Forest took a slow breath.

“You were sad and I wanted to make it stop,” he said again, “You are so nice and it hurt me to see you hurt. I do not know what I am made of, but I know I am here with you and out there. When the day ends, I am no longer here with you, so I have to ask again to come. I am sorry you think I leave.”

“So, what, you’re fucking supernatural Cinderella?” Alex asked and only got a very confused look from Forest.

Alex closed his eyes and gave himself a minute to process everything. So he had sex with the psyche of a forest that was probably in a body made of dirt. Weirder things have happened. He couldn’t think of any off the top of his head, but he was definitely sure that weirder things had happened.

“What happens if the earth tells you no and you can’t come again? You just don’t have a body and you’re stuck in the trees?” Alex asked. When Forest didn’t give him a direct answer, Alex took it as a yes. “So basically any day we spend together could be the last day I ever see you?”

“Yes,” he said.

Alex wanted to cry.

“So, what I’m hearing is that you are granted the power to be human with me because I’m sad, but if I get happy, you probably won’t be able to be here anymore. So my options are to have you and stay miserable, or move on from my bullshit and never see you again, right?” he clarified.

“I do not know,” Forest said, but it sounded right to Alex. Life was unfair that way.

“Okay,” Alex said, “So we’ll just have to make the most of it when you are here.”

Forest smiled again and waited for Alex to move closer. Rather than kissing or doing much more talking, Alex just wrapped his arms around him and received a similarly tight hug in return. 

As they hugged, he started putting the rest of the pieces together. The leaves and the dirt. The smell of the woods. The comfort he only received from the forest. Leave it to Alex to fall in love with two men that he could never really have, not really. Because life was difficult and it was cruel, but it still told Alex one thing. 

He _could_ move on. There was someone out there who could love him. After all, an entire forest that wanted to make him better. That meant something. If everything else went to shit, that meant something.

_Once upon a time, there was a forest who loved a brokenhearted boy so much it begged the earth for him._

That was a much better story.

**Author's Note:**

> also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
